GM hands CarPlay its own window on the 2027 Silverado and Sierra
Phone projection gets a picture-in-picture window in GM's new truck software. The native features now have to hold a driver's attention while CarPlay is already on screen, and GM's product manager makes the case for bigger tap targets.
The Product Desk
What happened
- GM's next-generation truck interface arrives on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2027 GMC Sierra 1500 later this year, carrying picture-in-picture phone projection for the first time.
- In some trucks the interface spans more than 60 inches of screen, the combined size of the instrument cluster, the central display and the passenger screen.
- Trailer-aware navigation identifies a connected trailer so Google Maps can route around it, and the dimensions an owner enters follow them to another vehicle through their GM account.
- The oil dipstick becomes a virtual measurement on the truck's status screen, though GM says the majority of physical touchpoints stay physical.
- A swipe-down panel borrowed from smartphone design handles device switching, settings and privacy, including turning off the vehicle's microphone.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction GM argued against phone mirroring in its electric vehicles and is now designing around it in its trucks, so a shopper comparing the two showrooms gets two philosophies from one company.
- Who has to decide decision GM's software team no longer wins by owning the center display. It has to build features a driver will leave a projected phone screen to use, and that is a harder bar than filling the space.
- What it limits constraint Checking the oil now depends on the truck's display and software being awake. An owner in a driveway with a dead screen has lost a check that used to need only a rag.
- What's now possible capability Trailer setup survives a change of truck, so the measuring happens once instead of at every trade-in, and the portability only works inside a GM account.
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Picture-in-picture changes what GM's own software has to be good at. When phone projection keeps a window, the native interface stops being the only thing on the center display, and every GM-built feature gets chosen against something the driver already knows how to use. The stated goal of the redesign is to cut the dangerous tapping and swiping needed to reach the most-used controls [13].
Three screens, and by the combined figure GM gave, they average about 20 inches each [16]. There is room for a media player, a driver-assist animation and a projected map at once [5].
Colin McCormick, GM's group product manager for Google built-in, projection and profiles, frames the extra space as bigger tap targets and larger interactive elements [11][14]. "Living in Michigan, the roads are terrible, so I'm trying to tap on a very small tap zone while hitting a bunch of potholes," McCormick said [12].
Teams shipping big dashboards usually describe the extra glass as headroom for features. GM says its customers keep asking for hardware, and that putting a key function on a screen because the screen exists buys the company nothing with them [6]. Physical buttons stay for HVAC, and airflow direction opens as a flyout on top of them [4].
The more interesting change is a split GM made in the information architecture: settings, which an owner visits once and then rarely again, are now separated from controls, which get tweaked often [18]. McCormick said the old interface felt disjointed because functions took over the whole display, so the media player now stays visible while a queue panel slides in from the side [10].
The Verge calls the picture-in-picture notable given GM's previously stated hostility to phone mirroring in its electric vehicles [2]. Its report covers the 2027 gas trucks and does not describe any change to the EV position [9]. The concession, in other words, lands in the trucks that had CarPlay all along.
The settings-versus-controls split is a test any team with a crowded screen can run, on two axes. Does the feature need data only the vehicle has? Is it used while the vehicle is moving? Trailer identification and routing answer yes twice, which is why they sit in the driver display and on the homescreen card [15]. Device switching and the microphone kill answer no twice, and they live behind a swipe-down panel where nobody has to hunt for them mid-drive [17]. The quadrant with no vehicle data and constant use in motion is music and navigation, and picture-in-picture hands that quadrant to the phone [1].
What to watch
- Whether picture-in-picture projection spreads beyond the 2027 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500, and whether GM's electric vehicles get phone mirroring at all.
- Whether more tangible tools follow the oil dipstick onto the status screen in later model years.
- Whether trailer dimensions stored in a GM account move outside GM vehicles, or stay tied to the account.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence68
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives58
- Confidence66
Perspective Coverage
9 publishers- Builder
- Builder 29%
- Operator
- Operator 57%
- Investor
- Investor 14%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
GM is introducing a new user interface for its Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks that includes, for the first time, picture-in-picture phone projection for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
- [2]
The Verge writes that the new picture-in-picture displays for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are notable given GM's previously stated hostility to phone mirroring in its electric vehicles.
- [3]
The next-generation interface debuts on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2027 GMC Sierra 1500 later this year.
- [4]
Physical buttons remain for key functions such as HVAC, and controlling the direction of airflow brings up a new flyout menu.
- [5]
Changes in the new interface include new graphics for GM's advanced driver-assist system, animated transitions between displays, and simplified layouts for trailering and off-roading.
- [6]
Customers have repeatedly professed their love for physical controls, and GM understands that moving key functions onto the screen just because there is more screen real estate does not earn it goodwill.
- [7]
Owners will see the interface on 60-plus inches of screen real estate, the combined size of the instrument cluster, central display and passenger screen in some of GM's trucks.
- [8]
The oil dipstick is now a virtual measurement on the truck's status screen, but the majority of physical touchpoints remain physical.
- [9]
The Verge's report describes the picture-in-picture projection on the 2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 and does not report any change to phone mirroring in GM's electric vehicles.
- [10]
McCormick said GM wanted to address the complaint that its existing interface feels disjointed because functions abruptly take over the entire display, so displays such as the media player can now remain visible while an additional queue panel slides in from the side.
- [11]
Colin McCormick is group product manager for Google built-in, projection, and profiles at GM.
- [12]
"Living in Michigan, the roads are terrible, so I'm trying to tap on a very small tap zone while hitting a bunch of potholes," McCormick said.
- [13]
GM is polishing the software experience in its bestselling trucks in an effort to reduce the amount of dangerous tapping and swiping required to access the most-used controls.
- [14]
McCormick said GM views the additional screen space as an opportunity to present information more intelligently and to make interactive elements larger, and that larger buttons and bigger tap zones make the system easier to operate in difficult driving conditions.
- [15]
Trailering information appears in the driver information display and in the smaller homescreen card; the trucks have built-in trailer-aware navigation that identifies a connected trailer so Google Maps can route around it, and customers enter the trailer's dimensions, which can be carried from one vehicle to another through the customer's GM account.
- [16]
Split across the three named displays, 60 inches of combined screen works out to an average of about 20 inches per screen.
- [17]
GM added a swipe-down notification interface for quick access to switching connected devices, entering settings and privacy controls, and truck owners can disable the vehicle's microphone directly from it.
- [18]
The new interface distinguishes between settings, which owners will likely visit once and then rarely again, and controls, which they may want to tweak more frequently.
Sources
8 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- 9to5google.comGM just found the ‘sweet spot’ for supporting Android Auto & CarPlay [Gallery]
2 articles · September 15, 2026
- arstechnica.comGM gives its most important trucks a new UI—and includes CarPlay
2 articles · September 15, 2026
- bgr.comGM Is Already Bringing Apple CarPlay Back After Discontinuing It
1 article · September 15, 2026
- digitaltrends.comGM’s new trucks aren’t ditching Android Auto and Apple CarPlay - Digital Trends
1 article · September 15, 2026
- droid-life.comGM Gives in and Brings Back Android Auto and Carplay
1 article · September 15, 2026
- engadget.comGM finds splitscreen solution for CarPlay and Android Auto
2 articles · September 15, 2026
- insideevs.comGM's New UI For Trucks Plays Nice With CarPlay
1 article · September 15, 2026
- thenextweb.comGM’s new UI for trucks gives CarPlay its own window
1 article · September 16, 2026
- theverge.comGM updates its trucks’ native software to coexist with CarPlay
1 article · September 15, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- In-car infotainment
- Driver distraction
- Smartphone projection
Entities
- General Motors
- Euro NCAP
- Android Auto
- Mary Barra
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Android Automotive